Adelbert Ames

Ames, Adelbert

(1835–1933) governor; born in Rockland, Maine. A West Point graduate (1861), he saw continuous action, distinguishing himself at 1st Bull Run, Gettysburg, and Petersburg. Governor of the Mississippi military district (1868–70), he served in the U.S. Senate (Rep., Miss.; 1870–74). Returning as governor of Mississippi (1874–76), he was unable to quell widespread disorder, including the Vicksburg riots, and resigned when threatened with impeachment. He moved to New York City, investing in Minnesota flour mills and manufacturing in Lowell, Mass. As a volunteer brigadier general, he saw service in Cuba during the Spanish-American War in 1898, retiring to Lowell afterward.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.